COLLINS, Samuel (1618-1710). A Systeme of Anatomy, treating of the Body of Man, Beasts, Birds, Fish, Insects, and Plants . London: Thomas Newcomb, 1685.
COLLINS, Samuel (1618-1710). A Systeme of Anatomy, treating of the Body of Man, Beasts, Birds, Fish, Insects, and Plants . London: Thomas Newcomb, 1685. 2 volumes, 2 o (370 x 248 mm). Titles printed in red and black. Engraved frontispiece of the Theatrum Cutlerianum, portrait of Collins by Willam Faithorne mounted on verso (according to Russell some copies have these printed on the recto and verso of a single leaf) in first volume; 73 engraved plates in second volume (some copies contain an additional plate inserted between pp. 934-935 in vol. 2, not present in this copy). (Some very pale and minor marginal dampstaining at end of vol. 1.) Late 17th- or early 18th-century English red morocco, covers gilt with three panels, the outer a double fillet, the middle panel a single fillet with floral and foliate tools at corners and at center of each side, the inner panel a roll within a triple fillet with floral and foliate tools at center of each side, spines in seven compartments with six raised bands, gilt-lettered in one, a repeated gilt-tooled panel in the rest, edges gilt (joints and extremities rubbed, a few scrapes). Provenance : Thomas Caren (armorial bookplate in each volume); Haskell F. Norman (bookplate; his sale part II, Christie's New York, 15 June 1998, lot 377). FIRST EDITION OF "THE MOST ELABORATE ENGLISH TREATISE ON COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF ITS DAY, dealing at length with the anatomical structures of man and 115 other animal species" (Norman). Collins' splendidly produced work, with its spectacular illustrations engraved by William Faithorne (1616-91), was well-regarded by his contemporaries and praised by Haller in the eighteenth century. However more recently it has been the target of justifiable criticism for its plagiarism, pretentious verbosity, and numerous avoidable inaccuracies. Collins drew heavily upon the services of his fellow anatomist Edward Tyson, whose contributions to the Systeme are certainly more extensive than Collins's few references to him acknowledge; indeed, the legends on the original drawings for the Systeme (now in the British Library) are probably entirely in Tyson's hand. The work is also replete with unacknowledged borrowings from Malpighi, Swammerdam, Stensen and many others. Still, the Systeme contains useful information, especially on fish and birds. Collins may also be credited with the invention of the anatomical prayer, specimens of which are found at the end of each section of the Systeme ; these expressions of natural theology are paeans to the Deity couched in anatomical terms, in which God is praised, for example, for the neatness and skill with which the viscera are stowed away in the abdominal cavity. Cole, History of Comparative Anatomy , pp. 156-174; Montagu, Edward Tyson , pp. 117-118, 186-187; NLM/Krivatsy 2610; Norman 498; Russell, British Anatomy 194; Wing C-5387. A VERY FINE SET.
COLLINS, Samuel (1618-1710). A Systeme of Anatomy, treating of the Body of Man, Beasts, Birds, Fish, Insects, and Plants . London: Thomas Newcomb, 1685.
COLLINS, Samuel (1618-1710). A Systeme of Anatomy, treating of the Body of Man, Beasts, Birds, Fish, Insects, and Plants . London: Thomas Newcomb, 1685. 2 volumes, 2 o (370 x 248 mm). Titles printed in red and black. Engraved frontispiece of the Theatrum Cutlerianum, portrait of Collins by Willam Faithorne mounted on verso (according to Russell some copies have these printed on the recto and verso of a single leaf) in first volume; 73 engraved plates in second volume (some copies contain an additional plate inserted between pp. 934-935 in vol. 2, not present in this copy). (Some very pale and minor marginal dampstaining at end of vol. 1.) Late 17th- or early 18th-century English red morocco, covers gilt with three panels, the outer a double fillet, the middle panel a single fillet with floral and foliate tools at corners and at center of each side, the inner panel a roll within a triple fillet with floral and foliate tools at center of each side, spines in seven compartments with six raised bands, gilt-lettered in one, a repeated gilt-tooled panel in the rest, edges gilt (joints and extremities rubbed, a few scrapes). Provenance : Thomas Caren (armorial bookplate in each volume); Haskell F. Norman (bookplate; his sale part II, Christie's New York, 15 June 1998, lot 377). FIRST EDITION OF "THE MOST ELABORATE ENGLISH TREATISE ON COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF ITS DAY, dealing at length with the anatomical structures of man and 115 other animal species" (Norman). Collins' splendidly produced work, with its spectacular illustrations engraved by William Faithorne (1616-91), was well-regarded by his contemporaries and praised by Haller in the eighteenth century. However more recently it has been the target of justifiable criticism for its plagiarism, pretentious verbosity, and numerous avoidable inaccuracies. Collins drew heavily upon the services of his fellow anatomist Edward Tyson, whose contributions to the Systeme are certainly more extensive than Collins's few references to him acknowledge; indeed, the legends on the original drawings for the Systeme (now in the British Library) are probably entirely in Tyson's hand. The work is also replete with unacknowledged borrowings from Malpighi, Swammerdam, Stensen and many others. Still, the Systeme contains useful information, especially on fish and birds. Collins may also be credited with the invention of the anatomical prayer, specimens of which are found at the end of each section of the Systeme ; these expressions of natural theology are paeans to the Deity couched in anatomical terms, in which God is praised, for example, for the neatness and skill with which the viscera are stowed away in the abdominal cavity. Cole, History of Comparative Anatomy , pp. 156-174; Montagu, Edward Tyson , pp. 117-118, 186-187; NLM/Krivatsy 2610; Norman 498; Russell, British Anatomy 194; Wing C-5387. A VERY FINE SET.
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